Carradine & Thailand’s Caricature Image

New results are in. Hollywood star David Carradine, who postmortemly rose to real fame after his quirky death in a Bangkok luxury closet and the spreading of gory photos, did not commit suicide. Most probably. That’s what a Dr. Michael Baden, the doctor who performed a second autopsy on Carradine, told U.S. media.

What Thai police initially ruled as a suicide and then an accidental suffocation by means of a sex-solo-gone-wrong, read: by auto-erotic asphyxiation, may indeed be just a simple banal accident. Because we also learn that no mysterious ladyboy had left the room in a hurry as hotel surveillance footage indicated no one entered Carradine’s room before he died.

Honestly, I had never heard of Carradine before his death. His movies are not my cup of tea. But within days he has become an archetypal Bangkok icon, further cementing that overused Bangkok cliché: “The location of death, however, (was) no shocker. Bangkok,” the trusted Huffington Post’s Greg Barrett tellingly wrote.

“The Thai capital isn’t exactly known for the missionary position,” we read. “The city and the nation are (in)famous for things recreational, not conventional.” Pointing to what Carradine is all about: With his strange death Carradine further erodes Thailand’ not only tarnished, but caricature fame.

Slowly we uncover many deeper layers under Carradine’s abstruse death. Barrett by the way is none less than the author of The Gospel of Father Joe, the legendary Catholic priest in Bangkok’s Klong Toey Slum. And all of a sudden Carradine becomes even involved in Thai politics and the kingdom’s global image per se.

Some two months ago Barrett had been contacted by a New York City consulting firm hired by the Royal Thai Government: “The firm had phoned to interview me two months before Carradine’s death,” says Barrett. “A representative explained that Thailand’s policy makers wanted an assessment of the country’s global image. How is Thailand viewed by foreigners and how much polish is needed to make it shine world class?”

“Political coups and pedophilia fugitives aside, I told the interviewer, if you judge Thailand only by its beaches, luxury hotels and shimmering new $3 billion Bangkok airport (makes Washington’s Dulles International look almost third world), Thailand is a jewel of Asia. Outside looking in, it should be top drawer and first world. But even the farang who only sees Thailand dressed in its Sunday best knows the dirt that’s underneath. Carradine may have died in a closet but Thailand has no skeletons. We all know.”

No skeletons.

Add the “leaking” of crime scene and autopsy shots (details in our first Carradine post) and the general state of Thailand’s tabloid media lurching “between lurid and deferential,” as we read in MSNBC’s World Blog.

Carradine’s violated privacy will not change one iota of perception within Thailand.

Politically, socially, economically – as Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra recently so eloquently put it: In Thailand, the law of the jungle prevails.




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June 12, 2009 | Filed Under News & Media, Society, The Thai Mind, Travel & Tourism 

Comments

10 Responses to “Carradine & Thailand’s Caricature Image”

  1. whoopla on June 12th, 2009 3.29 pm

    Land of charm and cruelty. Any high profile Thai actor dieing under Carridines circumstances would have been accorded anonimity and dignity for fear of reprisal from a poweful family – such repression goes beserk when the Thai authorities and press can vent their contempt for a non-Thai. The culture and infrastructure is built on back stabbing, skeletons and obfuscation.

  2. Andy on June 12th, 2009 3.42 pm

    I apologize if someone already mentioned it, but would like to add, that the movie he was doing in Thailand supposed to be called “STRETCH”…. voila

  3. E. Spitzer on June 12th, 2009 5.33 pm

    I have to take issue with your comment “David Carradine, who postmortemly rose to real fame after his infamous death in a Bangkok …”

    Carradine was a much liked and known actor well before his death. I’m surprised you never saw “Kill Bill” (he was “Bill”). He was also famous for his TV show “Kung Fu,” and his many movies (mostly ‘B’ but still a few good ones in there).

    As to the death, it still feels “wrong.” By all accounts he was not suicidal, and solo-sex gone bad doesn’t sound convincing either.

    Lets face it, one doesn’t go to Bangkok to be alone.

  4. Patrick on June 12th, 2009 7.34 pm

    Safe to say Carradine was an established second-tier actor in terms of popularity. If he had walked by my window, I would have thought, “Whoa, it’s the guy from ‘Kill Bill’!”

    (But not, “There goes David Carradine!”)

    Also, I don’t think the Thai media/authorities were venting “their contempt for a non-Thai.” Thai Rath ran that image for one simple reason: they obtained it, desired the scoop and thought it would sell papers.

    And it seems to have worked. If you like Thai Rath – and MILLIONS of people do – then you wanted to see the picture. After the controversy erupted, I wanted to see the picture. A slew of Americans punching “david carradine bangkok death” into Google Image search wanted to see it too.

    Dan is right — this reinforces Bangkok’s lurid image … but, really, if he did indeed die from this auto-erotic stuff, I’m thinking this could have happened no matter where he was filming: Egypt, Tokyo, Mexico City, wherever.

  5. caricature on June 13th, 2009 2.29 pm

    I like the caricature on the top of this article. It’s just great.

    (BD: Here’s the original.)

  6. Catherine on June 13th, 2009 5.44 pm

    E. Spitzer,

    I agree with you. And knowing who David was is not just an American thing, his early shows were popular in the U.K. too.

    For your comment: “Let’s face it, one doesn’t go to Bangkok to be alone”

    I did exactly that. BKK is a wonderful place to be alone for awhile.

    But then again, that might be a female thing ;-)

  7. gorgeous georgous on June 13th, 2009 9.35 pm

    Carradine was a massive star in the 70’s when the Kung Fu TV series was running and because of this had iconic status in Hollywood even if bloggers in Thailand haven’t heard of him.

    Thai Rath run endless photos of murder and car crash victims in all their bloody glory. So Carradine wasn’t getting treated any differently than most normal Thais.

    What this really revealed – due to the death of such an iconic internationally recognized actor (Thai bloggers notwithstanding) – was the way Thais treat each other. In short, without any regard to internationally accepted norms or ethics.

    Unless, of course, the victim or person involved is a poo yai/elite or can threaten serious violence. Then complete deference is the case.

    It is the law of the jungle. To try and sell Thailand as a smiling hippy dippy land of ethical Buddhists is just utter BS.

  8. BangkokDan on June 13th, 2009 11.02 pm

    It’s obvious that I’m in a clear minority here.

    As mentioned earlier on, Carradine died the way he seemed to have lived.

    A very Buddhist passing so to say.

    Agree with gorgeous gorgeous. Wonder if there are different translations/levels of “deference” in Thai?

    BangkokDan

  9. MongerSEA on June 19th, 2009 1.02 pm

    Dan, just as with justice here, one gets all the deference one can afford.

    g/g is right that for a brief period Carradine’s start burned very brightly indeed but he lacked in equal measures both acting depth and self control and that doomed him personally and professionally. My Hollywood friends ran with the same crowd and the picture they give is of a man who at times struggled very hard for his sobriety and at others was almost unbelievably depraved.

  10. $1,192 ++ The Celeb Night on August 12th, 2009 4.05 pm

    [...] for more than the strange celebrity death report about the tragic demise of martial arts legend David Carradine (…) Now Thailand introduces one of the latest private retreat hot spots that has been [...]

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